On December 4, Professor Bill Castellano, director of the undergraduate Human Resource Management (HRM) program, was awarded honorary membership into the University’s Chapter of The National Society of Leadership and Success during an induction ceremony in Scott Hall. Professor Castellano was recognized by the student-led society for embodying the society’s mission of helping people discover and achieve their goals and demonstrating leadership qualities in a professional capacity.

“It is truly an honor to be recognized for my teaching and leadership skills by our students,” says Professor Castellano. “My goals mirror those of the National Society of Leadership and Success, which are to develop and motivate our Rutgers students to be leaders in whatever field they choose to enter. Given my involvement with the HRM undergraduate program, it is very rewarding to be nominated by those students who have excelled in our program.”

Professor Castellano has not only been supportive of HRM students, but he has also been an instrumental force in the growth of the HRM undergraduate program. Launched in the fall 2009 semester, the program offered HRM studies as a minor and included 18 students declared minors. That number now stands at 250 minors. In fall 2011, the HRM program introduced a bachelor’s degree in Human Resource Management. Today, 150 students are participating in the program with HRM as their major—far exceeding expectations.

“Considering this was the first semester, we were expecting 50 majors,” says Professor Castellano. “Since last year we have seen a doubling of the number of students interested in our HRM undergraduate programs, with enrollments increasing from 557 in fall 2010 to 1,125 for the fall 2011 semester.”

Ashley Han, a fourth-year undergraduate student, has had the opportunity to work as aTeaching Assistant with the distinguished faculty of the HRM program, like Professor Castellano. She believes that her studies in the program have given her an invaluable learning experience. “I take a lot of pride in the fact that I will be graduating from the HRM program at Rutgers, as the university is known for its education in this field. This is evident by the interest and growth of this program,” says Han.

According to Monika Mackow, a first-year graduate student, the HRM program gave her an excellent foundation in which she used to land internships—4 in fact—with Fortune 500 companies.

She has recently accepted a job offer as an HR rotational analyst with a leading financial corporation.

“The opportunity to succeed was given in everyday class discussions. Professors push you to think about the most current and controversial topics,” says Mackow. "To sum up what the undergraduate and master program offers is to answer the performance equation—if you are determined then not only will you perform well in the program, but you are also provided with the resources so that you can land your dream job.”